Re: CLEANING PAN OF SEDIMENT UPON PURCHASE

Posted by shinyhubcap On 2016/10/11 11:31:17

Wrong, Fred - look at those fantastic and revealing photos you referred us to again!

That freshly "dropped" oil pan did have sludge - as you point out - was clean only up in the front portion. Typical.. for the simple reason that is where the timing chain slings off oil fast enough so that sludge cant settle.

As you correctly point out in your comment in that thread 'INSPECT THE SLUDGE CAREFULLY' (and, as you say, clean it out. Couldn't agree more ! )

And of course I agree with you that we lost a lot of pre-war "Senior" motors due in part to badly worn and then abused bearings.

As a side note, I suggest we also caution people with "long stroke" motors to "take it easy" when driving them if they are "stock geared".

With the incredibly low gearing of the pre-war Packards, their long connecting rods are thrashing about with far more violence to the bearing surfaces, at, say 60 miles an hour, than a modern "high-geared" car with its much shorter stroke, at 120 mph. I would not cruise ANY long-stroke low-geared pre-war car at anything higher than 45-50 mph.

Yes, I know all about the famous "25,000 mile 90 mph endurance test results" introducing the 1935 production with "insert" style rod bearings. We know that motor, run day and night, never got a chance to develop sludge in the lower portion of the oil pan casting where the oil pump intake is ! (anyone know how often, or even IF they changed the crankcase oil during that test..? )

I think Fred and I will survive our disagreement in this one area (over whether it is a good shop practice to drop the pans and clean em every couple of years). Dosnt change my admiration for the Kanter group one bit !

Yes, again, an agreement - as Fred points out - times have changed...with very few exceptions, you don't see pre-war "Seniors" tearing down the roads of today at speed (most have been reduced to being little more than costume jewelery to be occasionaly displayed as stationary exhibits at ritzy car shows! All they need to do is drag their elegant carcass from a trailer to their position in the show!

For those of us "hold-outs" who still think a pre-war Senior is one heck of a fun vehicle to be enjoyed for the superior motor cars they are.... Fred and I will have to disagree on the "clean oil pan" issue.